Many escalators post warnings about child safety, however those warnings usually only talk about little feet getting trapped at the top or bottom of the moving stairs. In China however a nine-year-old boy was killed on Saturday when his head got caught between two escalators at a mall.
According to the Shanghai Daily:
The child had been playing on the escalator alone while his mother, a saleswoman, was working, said the Beijing Emergency Medical Center.Traveling from the fifth to the sixth floor about 12:30pm, he craned his neck over the side and looked down, unaware that he was approaching a point where the escalator he was traveling on passed close to another traveling downwards.
The boy’s head became wedged between the two escalators and he was killed immediately.
The Beijing Administration of Work Safety has launched a full investigation into the incident and in the meantime they are asking that parents with children under 12-years-old accompany their kids on elevators and watch their every action.
In response to the boys death some groups have asked that bumper guards be put in place when escalators cross over or close to one another.
Do you think the mall should have had better safety guidelines in place?
